About 400 passengers have left Israel on US-assisted flights, official says
About 400 passengers have left Israel on US-assisted flights, official says
WASHINGTON - The United States has helped about 400 U.S. citizens and others to fly out of Israel since Saturday amid conflict with Iran, and hopes to accommodate more in the coming days, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.
"We very much know that there's still capacity, still U.S. citizens seeking to leave Israel, that the airspace is not reliably opened up. It is incredibly dynamic," the official said.
The State Department is sharing information with over 27,000 about leaving the region and safety and security, the official said, up from 25,000 last week.
The U.S. started some limited assisted-departure flights for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and their immediate family members on Saturday.
The official said thousands had also left Israel overland for Jordan, while several hundred had departed through Egypt over the past two days. Several thousand U.S. citizens have gone to Cyprus on ships, mostly arranged by Birthright or other private groups.
Hundreds have left Iran through Azerbaijan, the official said. Turkmenistan has been restricting the entry of U.S. citizens but is now allowing them in after weekend diplomatic efforts.
The State Department is aware of reports of a couple of U.S. citizens detained in Iran in this process but has no additional information to share, the official said.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Israel and Iran had reached a ceasefire deal, although violations were reported.
Israel launched a surprise attack on June 13, hitting Iran's nuclear sites and killing the top echelon of its military command.
Retaliatory missile strikes have killed 28 people in Israel. REUTERS
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